POLICE chiefs fear that up to 1,000 officers could be struck down if bird flu hits the West Midlands.

Special contingency plans have been drawn up to cope with a possible pandemic.

Other emergency services are also making preparations along with local councils in Coventry and Warwickshire. About 800 NHS staff in Coventry could be hit.

And business bosses believe companies should also prepare for the worst.

The World Health Organisation says the disease has killed at least 76 people in East Asia since December 2003.

A further 19 people in Turkey have now tested positive for the H5N1 strain - with each of these cases seeing the people come into contact with infected birds.

Health chiefs fear the disease may mutate into a virus that can pass between humans - like normal flu - and spark a pandemic.

If that happens, it is feared that some 70,000 people could go down with bird flu if the disease strikes in Coventry and Warwickshire.

'We'll be able to cope' - Ambulance

AMBULANCE drivers will be asked to work overtime if a pandemic form of bird flu wipes out part of the workforce.

Bosses at the Coventry and Warwickshire Ambulance NHS Trust fear a quarter of their 1,000-strong workforce could go down with the human form of bird flu.

But Malcolm Hazel, the trust's chief executive, said the trust would be able to cope and had already drawn up contingency plans.

He said: "The figures are manageable but, beyond that, it would be difficult. Our service has got some quite detailed contingency plans.

"It is something that no-one can be complacent about. We are keeping an eye on the situation."

Mr Hazel added that an a flu pandemic would not only affect ambulance drivers on 999 emergency calls.

It would also have an impact on the Trust's routine journeys system and out-of-hours services.

Critical areas identified - Fire service

FIREFIGHTERS' bosses have been planning to deal with a pandemic flu crisis for almost a year.

West Midlands Fire Service are confident that they would still be able to operate if an avian flu disaster arrives.

A spokesman said: "We have been planning for this issue since last July, working alongside all the other emergency, health and other agencies on a regional basis and attending planning sessions.

"We have identified critical areas of our business which we would need to maintain should a proportion of our workforce be taken sick and put plans into place to ensure that we could continue to maintain our business.

"This is all part of our normal business continuity planning processes."

Drugs to treat quarter of population - Health

HEALTH bosses in Coventry believe a third of their workforce could fall ill if a pandemic flu virus hits the UK.

Leading figures at the Coventry Teaching Primary Care Trust - which employs 2,500 staff across the city - believe more than 800 of their staff could affected by a potential pandemic.

Dr Keith Williams, the city's director of public health, said: "We are already looking at ways in which we could continue to provide essential services with a reduced workforce and are working closely with partner organisations in the city."

Bosses at the primary care trust met last week to discuss ways to combating the outbreak of a bird flu pandemic.

The meeting - run by Coventry University's Centre for Disaster Management - was arranged to see how the trust would react in the event of an outbreak of pandemic bird flu.

Dr Williams added: "It is likely that, in the event of a pandemic, Coventry would be provided with around 80,000 doses of Tamiflu to treat a quarter of the population.

"The drug would be given to those who are displaying symptoms of the illness and should help to reduce the infectious period, prevent secondary complications and will not be given as a preventative measure."

Bosses at the University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust, which runs Walsgrave Hospital and St Cross, said emergency plans were already in place.

A & E Consultant Gary Ward, who has responsibility for emergency planning within the trust, said: "We have a robust emergency plan for all sorts of major incidents and included within is contingency planning to prepare us in the event of a potential flu pandemic. That planning is in conjunction with many agencies across the city and county and is also being linked into national arrangements for contingency planning."

Staffing plans 'in place' - Police

POLICE in the West Midlands say up to 10 per cent of the 11,000 people who work for the force could be off should the virus reach the UK.

And they have drawn up plans to ensure policing in Coventry and the West Midlands remains unaffected.

Chief Insp Steve Anderson said that if there was a large number of officers off sick because of the virus, frontline policing would be a priority.

He said: "Responding to calls from the public to come and help because they have got burglars is one of those things we are going to keep doing whatever happens."

He said duties such as taking films from speed cameras would become a low priority.

Chief Insp Anderson said: "If we didn't do that for a couple of weeks the world would still continue."

If large numbers of frontline officers were struck down with the illness, staff who work behind the scenes would take up their duties.

Chief Insp Anderson added that staff were being trained in specialist duties so they could provide cover in the event of mass sickness.

And he added the contingency plans worked for other causes of large-scale absence, such as sudden heavy snow fall preventing officers from getting to work.

A spokeswoman for Warwickshire Police said the force had not drawn up specific plans for staffing in the event of an outbreak of bird flu. But she added that the force already had plans for what to do in the event of large numbers of staff being absent.

Flocks must go on the register - Farmers

POULTRY farmers are being urged to register their flocks as the government gears up to battle the threat of bird flu.

Warwickshire County Council Trading Standard's animal health team say that poultry keepers have until February 28 to register their flocks, which must consist of 50 birds or more.

The information, which will be placed on a national register, is part of the government's plans to tackle the risk of bird flu.

Trading Standards director Noel Hunter said: "We very much hope that poultry flocks will remain disease-free but we cannot ignore the risk.

"The register will mean that a detailed picture of our flocks can be created and, with their location and their size identified, this will mean that in the event of an outbreak all the services involved will be able to respond effectively."

Members of the National Farmers' Union have stressed that bird flu has not arrived on the UK's shores yet.

Spokesman Russell Griffin said: "The UK is free of bird flu. Poultry, meat and eggs are safe to eat.

"It is a threat we are taking seriously but it has to be put into context. You are more likely to be run over by a bus than get bird flu at the moment."

But poultry farmers across the West Midlands are being invited to a meeting about the situation, organised by the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the West Midlands Health Protection Agency at Hereford Racecourse on January 31 between 2-5pm.

To sign up for the poultry register or to find out further details ring 0800 634 1112.

Wake up, or face ruin - Business

SMALL businesses were today warned to make contingency plans or face financial ruin ahead of a potential flu pandemic.

Special seminars are being held across Britain where companies can learn how to minimise the risk of a flu crisis.

Alastair Bartholomew, of the West Midlands Health Protection Agency, said: "We are working on 'business continuity' issues to try to get businesses through the first wave, three to four months' long.

"It's unlikely the country will grind to a halt but some businesses will go to the wall because small to medium enterprises, which make up the vast majority of businesses in the UK, do not have any business continuity plans."

Mike Peachey, of the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce, said firms needed to "wake up".

"It's another potential risk for businesses," he said.

"They need to have a business continuity plan because if they have one they will be better prepared than if they do not."

One suggestion includes identifying key workers and allowing them to work from home.

Mr Peachey said: "Businesses will lose some staff, customers and suppliers. I guess it will slow things down but with a bit of planning they should be able to survive."

Essential services will be prioritised - City council

COVENTRY City Council says it will make health and social services the priorities if there is a pandemic flu outbreak.

Members of the council's business continuity team have been working with regional and national bodies to plan for a potential pandemic.

A spokesman said: "Generic emergency plans are already well established for Coventry. As part of these plans, we have identified essential services that would be prioritised in an emergency situation."